High Wind and Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, January 18, 2006

Name: High Wind and Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, January 18, 2006
Start: 2006-01-18T06:00
End: 2006-01-18T17:00
Location: Pennsylvania

January 18, 2006 · NWS PHI · 13 events in 10 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $240,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.

Strong to high southeast winds during the early morning and strong west winds during the late morning and afternoon buffeted Eastern Pennsylvania. Peak wind gusts averaged near 60 mph during the early morning in the local Philadelphia area and around 50 mph elsewhere during the early morning and in all places during the westerly flow in the late morning and afternoon. The morning winds downed trees and power lines and caused traveling delays during the morning rush due to closed roads. Garbage and recycling pails were strewn. Like the strong to high winds on the 14th and 15th the wet ground and in this case a different wind direction (southeast) during the early morning made it easier for trees to be uprooted. About 120,000 homes and businesses lost power in Eastern Pennsylvania with the greatest concentration (95,000) in the PECO Energy service area in and around Philadelphia. The downed trees caused major delays and disruptions on the commuter rail lines in Suburban Philadelphia. The SEPTA R-5 line between Thorndale (Delaware County) and Doylestown (Bucks County), the R-2 line in Willow Grove (Montgomery County) and the R-3 West Trenton Line (in Bucks County) all had fallen tree problems.In Bucks County, in Perkasie one person was injured by a downed tree. Two trees fell onto a home. U.S. Route 202 was closed near Solebury. Schools in Bensalem and Warminster Townships were closed due to power failures. In Montgomery County, the roof was lifted from a home in Norristown. The siding was also stripped from the home. Two adults and three children were displaced. The Marlborough Township School district cancelled classes. Half of the PECO Energy outages occurred in Montgomery County. In the Lehigh Valley, about 18,250 homes and businesses lost power. Downed trees caused road closures in Upper Saucon Township (Lehigh County) and in Lower Nazareth and Lower Mount Bethel Townships. Measured wind gusts included 53 mph in Mount Pocono (Monroe County) and the Lehigh Valley International Airport, 49 mph at the Philadelphia International Airport and 39 mph in Reading (Berks County). The strong and high winds were caused by an increasing southeasterly low level jet preceding a cold front during the early morning of the 18th. This feature intensified further east and caused the most damage once it reached New Jersey. The cold front moved through Eastern Pennsylvania between 7 a.m. EST and 10 a.m. EST on the 18th and strong west winds occurred behind the front from late in the morning through most of the afternoon before they diminished at night.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 18, 5:28 AM EST, 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 5:28 AM EST, 32 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 18, 4:50 AM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
450 AM EST WED JAN 18 2006

ANZ430-431-450>455-DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-
007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055-060>062-067>071-191000-
DELAWARE BAY WATERS NORTH OF EAST POINT NJ TO SLAUGHTER BEACH DE-
DELAWARE BAY WATERS SOUTH OF EAST POINT NJ TO SLAUGHTER BEACH DE-
COASTAL WATERS FROM SANDY HOOK TO MANASQUAN INLET NJ OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM MANASQUAN INLET TO LITTLE EGG INLET NJ OUT
20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM LITTLE EGG INLET TO GREAT EGG INLET NJ OUT
20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM GREAT EGG INLET TO CAPE MAY NJ OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE MAY NJ TO CAPE HENLOPEN DE OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE HENLOPEN TO FENWICK ISLAND DE OUT 20 NM-
NEW CASTLE-KENT DE-INLAND SUSSEX-DELAWARE BEACHES-CECIL-KENT MD-
QUEEN ANNES-TALBOT-CAROLINE-SUSSEX-WARREN-MORRIS-HUNTERDON-
SOMERSET-MIDDLESEX-WESTERN MONMOUTH-EASTERN MONMOUTH-MERCER-SALEM-
GLOUCESTER-CAMDEN-NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON-OCEAN-CUMBERLAND-
ATLANTIC-CAPE MAY-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY-COASTAL ATLANTIC-
COASTAL OCEAN-SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON-CARBON-MONROE-BERKS-LEHIGH-
NORTHAMPTON-CHESTER-MONTGOMERY-BUCKS-DELAWARE-PHILADELPHIA-
450 AM EST WED JAN 18 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, THE NORTHERN MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE AND
NEW JERSEY, EXCLUDING THE FIVE NORTHEAST COUNTIES.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON FOR DELAWARE, NEW
JERSEY, MOST OF THE NORTHEAST MARYLAND SHORE, AND EXTREME
SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, WITH A WIND ADVISORY THEN IN EFFECT
UNTIL 7 PM. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM ELSEWHERE
(EXTREME NORTHEASTERN MARYLAND, AND MUCH OF SOUTHEASTERN AND
EAST-CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA).

A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL AREAS UNTIL NOON.

ALSO, RAIN MAY END AS SNOW SHOWERS ESPECIALLY OVER HIGHER TERRAIN
OVER NORTHWESTERN NEW JERSEY AND EAST-CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA, WITH
ANY SNOW AMOUNTS AN INCH OR LESS THIS AFTERNOON.

MINOR TIDAL FLOODING IS POSSIBLE WITH THE HIGH TIDE THIS MORNING,
THEN BLOW OUT TIDES ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE NEW
JERSEY AND DELAWARE COASTS AND LIKELY TONIGHT ALONG THE OCEAN
FRONT AND DELAWARE BAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED IF SPOTTERS COULD REPORT IN ANY STRONG
WIND GUSTS (OVER 50 MPH) OR ANY DAMAGE REPORTS, AS WELL AS ANY
FLOODING REPORTS.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 18, 4:16 AM EST, 1 hour 44 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
416 AM EST WED JAN 18 2006

DEZ002>004-NJZ013-014-020>027-181715-
KENT DE-INLAND SUSSEX-DELAWARE BEACHES-WESTERN MONMOUTH-
EASTERN MONMOUTH-OCEAN-CUMBERLAND-ATLANTIC-CAPE MAY-
ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY-COASTAL ATLANTIC-COASTAL OCEAN-
SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...DOVER...GEORGETOWN...REHOBOTH BEACH...
FREEHOLD...SANDY HOOK...JACKSON...MILLVILLE...HAMMONTON...
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE...OCEAN CITY...ATLANTIC CITY...
LONG BEACH ISLAND...WHARTON STATE FOREST
416 AM EST WED JAN 18 2006

...MINOR TIDAL FLOODING POSSIBLE WITH THE HIGH TIDE THIS MORNING...
...THEN BLOW OUT TIDES POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE NEW JERSEY
AND DELAWARE COASTS AND LIKELY TONIGHT ALONG THE OCEAN FRONT AND
DELAWARE BAY...

STORM FORCE SOUTHERLY WINDS GUSTING TO 60 MPH PRECEDING A COLD FRONT
THIS MORNING WILL LIKELY PRODUCE MINOR TIDAL FLOODING AT THE TIME OF
HIGH TIDE LATE THIS MORNING ALONG THE OCEAN FRONT. WAVE ACTION AND
THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN COULD EXACERBATE THE FLOODING. THE
TIMES OF HIGH TIDE FOR MOST AREAS WILL BE BETWEEN 10 AM AND NOON
THIS MORNING. THE STORM FORCE SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL LIKELY PRODUCE
MINOR TIDAL FLOODING ALSO IN NORTHERN PARTS OF REHOBOTH AND BARNEGAT
BAYS.

DO NOT PARK YOUR VEHICLE IN AREAS PRONE TO MINOR TIDAL FLOODING.
ALSO DO NOT TAKE ROADS THAT ARE PRONE TO MINOR TIDAL FLOODING.

A COLD FRONT PASSING THROUGH THE REGION WILL CHANGE SOUTHERLY WINDS
TO THE WEST BY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THESE WEST WINDS WILL INCREASE
IN SPEED TO 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH THROUGH MOST OF THE
AFTERNOON. THESE STRONG OFFSHORE WINDS COULD PRODUCE BLOWOUT TIDES
AT THE TIMES OF LOW TIDE THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE NEW JERSEY AND
DELAWARE COASTS. THE TIME OF LOW TIDE ALONG THE OCEAN FRONT OCCURS
BETWEEN 4 AND 6 PM TODAY.

BLOWOUT TIDES ARE MORE LIKELY EARLY THIS EVENING IN DELAWARE BAY AS
THE LOW TIDE WORKS ITS WAY UP THE BAY. WHILE THE NEAR SHORE WINDS
WILL DIMINISH TONIGHT, THE OFFSHORE WINDS WILL STILL BE STRONG. THIS
IN ALL LIKELIHOOD WILL HELP PRODUCE BLOWOUT TIDES AGAIN LATE TONIGHT.

BLOWOUT TIDES OCCUR WHEN TIDAL LEVELS DROP UNDER 1.8 FT BELOW MEAN
LOWER LOW WATER.

BLOWOUT TIDES ARE NOT EXPECTED IN CHESAPEAKE BAY AS THE WINDS WILL
BE BLOWING TOWARD THE MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE OR ALONG THE DELAWARE
RIVER AS IT WILL BE HIGH TIDE AROUND THE TIME OF THE STRONGEST WEST
WINDS.

TIDES ALONG DELAWARE BAY AND THE OCEAN FRONT WILL GRADUALLY RETURN
TO NEAR NORMAL LEVELS BY THE TIME OF THE NEXT LOW TIDE LATE THURSDAY
AFTERNOON.

TFG

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 strong wind, 3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Berks

When: January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Berks forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Carbon

When: January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Carbon forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Chester

When: January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Chester forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Strong Wind, Delaware

When: January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $16,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Lehigh

When: January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Lehigh forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Monroe

When: January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Northampton

When: January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Northampton forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Bucks

When: January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where: Bucks forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

High Wind, Montgomery

When: January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $160,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

High Wind, Philadelphia

When: January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where: Philadelphia forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Bucks

When: January 18, 8:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Bucks forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Strong Wind, Montgomery

When: January 18, 8:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Strong Wind, Philadelphia

When: January 18, 8:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Philadelphia forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, January 2006

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5486884, 5486886, 5486887, 5486888, 5486889, 5486890, 5486973, 5486975, 5486976, 5486977, 5486885, 5486891, 5486974.